Teens Whip Up Omelets at Library Cooking Class

Teens gathered at the Merrick Library Wednesday evening as part of the Make Waves Summer 2010 Young Adult Program to learn how to make an omelet–from prepping to the finished product.

Chef Robert Kass, who is about seven days away from graduating from the Culinary Academy of Long Island in Syosset, entertained those in attendance by showing his impressive set of knives and explaining the purpose of each, as well as how to crack open an egg.

The first of three classes, from breakfast to dinner, Kass said that he was invited by the library in support of their summer program and was looking forward to helping the teens with prepping and learning how to cook their own omelet.

Teen services librarian, Larissa Simonovski, said: "Our cooking programs are very popular. We've been doing it for three years."

Once the teens were seated, Kass began.

"First, most important in the kitchen is safety because everything is hot, heavy or sharp," he said.

He then showed his impressive set of knives as validation.

"If you want to be a great chef," Kass said, "there's three basic items you must know how to make: A good omelet, a good soup and how to grill a steak, which is really a matter of getting the temperature right."  

He went on to instruct the attentive students how to hold a knife, grate cheese and crack open an egg. When it came time to actually prepare, the students were required to thoroughly wash their hands before beginning.

"Many people believe," Kass said as he cracked open an egg, "that they can get salmonella from what's inside the shell, but that is not the case."  

One student bravely volunteered to slice and dice a jalapeño, first needing to don a pair of plastic gloves. Other students grated cheese while others sliced and chopped up onions and another group went about cracking open dozens of eggs.

One girl worked diligently by slicing fresh mushrooms. But the real fun began when it came time to actually cook.

Surrounding the set up with two burners and the ingredients for the omelet, each teen had a turn of making his or her own creation. Some added the works and, once the omelet was close to being complete, Kass showed them how to flip their finished product.

Some were daring enough to try their hand at flipping and succeeded while others found it difficult to get the hang of it.  Simonovksi was grateful that she'd covered some of the carpet near the cooking station as some of the egg mixture found its way to the floor.

Clearly in his element, Kass, from Rockville Centre, imparted helpful hints for the students throughout the session. Earlier, while setting up he said, "Later this month, I will be working at Ciao Baby in Massapequa as line chef."

Previously, Kass was a sous chef at Delicious Moments Caterers, as well as at St. Peter's Catch in Montauk.

"I was always interested in cooking due to my grandmother," he said.  "She cooked fantastic meals in gigantic portions, family style, which is what I'll be doing at Ciao Baby."

Once the omelets were cooked, the students sat down and enjoyed their accomplishment, along with a glass of orange juice and some bread.

On July 28, they will learn how to make fresh veggie sushi from scratch and on August 11, they will be shown how to make a selection of pasta dishes and sauces. Classes are at 6:30 p.m. and registration is still open.